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In Guildford, a motion will be proposed by Councillor Nils Christiansen at an extraordinary meeting of the borough council on Tuesday in response to concerns about racist abuse of immigrants since the EU vote.

The motion states: “We are proud to live in a diverse and tolerant society. Racism, xenophobia and hate crimes have no place in our country.

“Guildford Borough Council condemns racism, xenophobia and hate crimes unequivocally. We will not allow hate to become acceptable.

“We are pleased to note the strong stance that Surrey Police has taken against these issues.”

The motion goes on to say that the council will work to ensure local bodies and programmes have the resources needed to prevent antisocial acts and reassures EU citizens they are valued and welcome in the borough.

She added: “Someone clearly misunderstood what the event was about. I received a call from a withheld number, which is usually someone from Millmead offices, so I thought it was someone normal but it turned out to be someone who was far from normal.

“She said I was saying anyone who voted Brexit was a racist, which was the opposite of what we were doing.

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“It was not a political event – there were people who voted to leave and people who voted to remain.”

The councillor said the anonymous caller ranted at her that she would never vote Conservative again – appearing not to realise Cllr Reeves is a Liberal Democrat.

'Difficult time'

The news comes after the National Police Chiefs’ Council said last week reports of hate crimes to monitoring website increased 57% between Thursday (June 23) and Sunday (June 26).

“Surrey Police is aware the result of the EU referendum is already having a significant impact on our communities during what is likely to remain a difficult and unsettling time," said the force in a statement.

“This is similar to trends following other major national or international events. In previous instances, crime levels returned to normal relatively quickly but the situation is being monitored closely.

“Hate crime hurts us all. It strikes at the heart of our communities and Surrey Police will not tolerate this type of offending in any form.

“The force has worked hard to ensure people feel confident in reporting hate crime to us and we want to reassure our local communities any criminality of this kind will be treated seriously and fully investigated.”

Anyone who has been the victim of, or who has witnessed, a hate crime should report it to Surrey Police via 101 or contact Crimestoppers charity anonymously on 0800 555 111. Alternatively, hate crimes can be reported to the True Vision website.